Not 1 or 2 days, weeks. And now because of travel to far away tournaments, more time off. Fun for kids but not helpful to academics.Giving kids the impression that the world revolves around soccer is hurting them in the long run. I know a kid who missed so much school because of soccer, he dropped out because everyone gave him the impression that he would be a star and make loads of money. Not working out as he planned.

And players need to be prepared for the incredible grind of a college soccer season which really makes academic success in the fall semester a very difficult prospect. The training, travel, and multiple games per week make for a rather ridiculous season and this is something that d1coahes are trying to address with a move to a season that is spread over the fall and spring, but for now the season is such that incoming freshman really need to be aware and prepared for this insane schedule just as they are acclimating to a new college environment.

11:42 your facts are wrong. Coaches will tell you and studies have proven that the team GPA is higher in season then it is out of season. The structure helps in the fall and lack of structure hurts in the spring.

That part of your point was not addressed. All coaches would prefer to have the season in both the fall and spring (it makes sense). If you take the fact that grades are better "in season" that would lead me to believe that grades would be better overall if they took the 2 season approach.

Do you really think playing D1 soccer is a simple thing? That's what you're making it sound like. The physical and mental demands put on student athletes are so intense. They have to expect a stressful 4 yrs.

Academics are important but there is a very wide range of academic standards in college soccer. Some schools are looking for ACT score of 22 and some are looking for 32. Some schools require players to take summer classes so they will have a lighter load during the season. It is a challenge, and yes some kids are unhappy after their Freshman year due to lack of playing time or workload. That's why there are so many transfers out there. Key is to go to a school that you would like to graduate from even if soccer goes away. Love the school, like the soccer. Use soccer to help you get into a school that you would not have gotten into without soccer.

Yeah 2:23, what are you talking about? Everyone knows D1 soccer is no joke, and a very challenging way to go through 4 years of college. Coaches are pointing out how inordinately taxing the current fall season can be given the amount of games per week, lack of proper recovery time, and a large amount of missed class time in the fall. Maybe some want to argue about these points, but they are coming from the coaches. I'm seems to me that the physically taxing part of the argument can be partly verified by the tremendous amount of injuries suffered. Expecting a stressful four years is One thing. Playing and studying in a system that is not optimally set up for ones health and academic success is another.

Is it better to go to a D1 school where you might never play or a D3 school where you have a better chance to play and less stress? Academically speaking, the D3 school is a lot of times the better option but you do not have the D1 label. My son has an option to go to a D1 school, I fear he will choose this for the D1 label only and not really look at all the options.

There are some fantastic D3 schools out there. Many with great academic reputations. One thing about a lot of the real good D3's is they tend to be small schools. If your kid is good with that then D3 makes a lot of sense. Many D3 schools play better soccer than D1's. The academic/sports mix is probably better at D3's. I also hear you about kids wanting to play D1. I guess it depends on what schools you are talking about. I would prefer my son to graduate from Tufts or Amherst over many D1 schools. But most kids probably don't see it that way. At the end of the day not too many of these kids are going to make a career out of soccer. They should go to the school that gives them the best chance to get employed in the field they choose.

Can anyone shed a light about the Main Line friendlies in PA. How good is the competition over there. In terms of college coaches, do you get a fair amount of coaches scouting there. I looked it up on the web, but could not find much on it.

I think that is the tournament organized by Penn Fusion. It is one of the best showcases I have seen. They invite a small group of top teams in each age group. College coaches are there in force. Been there last 2 years, if you get invited go.

It is never too late. All teams will lose a recruit or two that they thought they had and will take on a random player at this time to fill out the class. I would suggest NOT being that player but you can get yourself on a roster.

Again, do not choose your college with soccer as your main priority. Some D1 schools do not offer the best bang for your buck when it comes to education and job placement. Why go to Binghamton, FDU or Rider to name a few when you can play at Tufts or Carnegie Mellon? Which will get you the ultimate prize, a great career.

Admission standards are a lot tougher at carnegie mellon and tufts. A student athlete who wants to go to a very selective school is putting academics first, which will of course, mean a great career. There are other student athletes who just want to play D1 and put soccer first. That could also be fulfilling. You're only young once.

You can take out CM and Tufts and put in many other schools with great academics and placement ratios. You stated that you're only young once, that is true, and then you need to work for a living. Playing at a low level D1 standard (maybe playing, maybe never seeing the field) and not getting a quality education is not the wise way to go IMO.

My response was just following along the conversation, of course someone could be a starter, each team has 11 of them. However, the majority of the players are not as each roster has anywhere from 28 to 40 players on it

It is funny how a blogger asks one simple question and things just start spiraling in different directions. One person came in the blog asking how good is the Main line Friendlies is in terms of competition and college coaches and one person is saying that is the same as the Penn Fusion Friendlies (is it), than another is saying too late to be seen by college coaches(we don't even know what grade the kid is in), the next 2 are talking about how education is better CM and Tufts then FDU and Binghamton. This blog is too funny.

Or, there can actually be two topics discussed at once. Too taxing for some. It is not too late for a HS SR to bee seen by a college coach, they just need to understand that the money has been dispersed for the most part and if they are being seen for the first time, well it is not a great sign. I do agree with the choose your school over choose your soccer. If you are able to play at a top school like Rutgers or Maryland for example and even have a chance at playing soccer that would be great. There might even be some playing time at Rutgers available as their 2017 recruiting class is not that strong.

Soccer is like no other sport I know, you have players that are very talented playing D1 and D3 soccer. I couldn't tell you the difference in these players and in some cases I would say I would prefer the D3 player over the D1 player. There does not seem to be any flow to the recruiting and placement of these players. Also, what happened to D2, not a lot of options there at all.

There are a lot of excellent D3 soccer programs out there. For instance, Amherst could probably beat some of the top 25 D1 teams out there on any given day. They are a top 25 academic school too. So people make choices for different reasons.

I think we all know players that went to a D1 school last year and saw no playtime. Speak to them, they hate it. We also all know players that saw little or no playtime at the D3 level, they hate it too. Bottom line, know where you fit best, unfortunately this is almost impossible to project.

Won't all of these teams have dedication issues this spring? What is the summer plan for players moving on to play in college? Do they play games and train or just train? Where are they supposed to train?

Dedication issues? Not sure if that is correct, most of these guys love the sport. Scheduling will become an issue as the coaches try to schedule their games when they have their stars available, but that should not be any different then any other year.

Most players have committed by now, this is a very good time to reach out to colleges you are interested in, they may have openings due to the fact that they didnt get some players they planned on getting.

YMS U18 Boys are looking to add 1-2 field players and a goalie for the spring season. Players could be 98's or 99's. Our season will run from now until mid-May and we will train 2 nights per week and play one game most weekends. We will compete in the Region 1 Eastern Regional League, Pennsylvania NCS State Cup, and the APL.

Please contact Chris McDaniels (ASAP), head coach, if you are interested or have any questions.

That is a very good point. Why would SSC be rewarded for their immature behavior last season? Too late now, and I guess it doesnt really matter but maybe they should not have been left in at all. Or, make them play MF every game this year, that will show them.

How is 1:21 "stirring it up"? You don't believe those are two truths? SSC did NOT honor the game last season, and MF is a dominant team. There are other teams that are very good and of course can beat MF on a given day but going into the game who is the favorite? MF

Not a big US Club state cup fan but who do you play for that would allow you to talk down to Marlboro and Holmdel? They played in the finals why? Because they beat the other teams to earn that right. Those teams were from all over the country, it just worked out that way in the final. So again, what team do you play for? Why werent you there?

Taking these games and teams so seriously is ridiculous. Just let the kids play. Adults act like there's so much at stake here. They are youth teams. No team is "threatened" by any other. You win some you lose some. Have fun! A player is only all american because his HS coach gives him that honor. Maybe another coach wouldn't see it the same way.

Come on, HS soccer isn't serious. Everyone knows that. The coach sees the big kid who scores a lot of goals by running onto the ball as a great player. If you want to believe there's more to it, go ahead.

Top 5: Any game between the top three would be just phenominal to watch and no sure bet to win. Great work by the Kids, Parents and Coaches in being the top teams in the Country.

MarlboroMatchfitHolmdel

4-5 slots are: Very good teams that play with a lot of heart.MarltonSJEB-on the bubble Stallions

I don't know the status of STA? If they are still in the age group I would put them at a solid 4 ranking. SSC's status is questionable as well, with the loss of key players to competing clubs, thier forfeiture of the remainder of last season and tournament participation, I'd put them in the 7-10 ranking however, they are unquestionably not in the top 5 at this time.

Not sure how you could know any of this for sure. Teams change, players leave, some have graduated and are in college at this point. Teams at this point can be very different from what you state and no one really knows how it will all shake out.

Graduated and are in college in this age group? Sorry, but 99/98 teams either dropped down to 99 or they remained intact and play 98 (U19). So not sure how they could have graduated and are in college when they haven't graduated HS yet and the younger still have a year to go?

It's an opinion-based hyposthesis partly derived from past performance and the top teams are and have thier rosters pretty much intact. So unless 4-5 teams merged thier best players then it's a possibility they might shake out somewhere but not as a top competetor in the state.

You assume my son plays on a team in the top 5, when in fact top 20-25 would be the truth. I however do not have an issue with those top 5 teams and know they are better. I do not think being better makes you an elitist. You sound like a jealous person to me.

Tournaments at this stage are ok if you have the money to do so. No need to travel far, the only college coaches that will be watching you are the coaches you have already signed up to play for. The bigger question to me is what to do this summer? I know you should be conditioning, but are new teams formed to keep you sharp?

MSC was very lucky to get their tournament in after many previous cancellations. A lot of tournaments and games will be cancelled or postponed. Every spring there is a huge demand for turf fields with most grass being water logged.

To the poster above you only agreed with the post above yours. Question for you. Why would there be no need for stating it is a tournament for low to mid level teams? It is true and what is wrong with that type of a tournament?

"Yeah, because most freshman go in and start right away. What a tool!!!"

Or better yet, never start at all. I went to a D1 match last fall in which 21 of the 22 starters were international players. And my understanding is that the 1 American starter (a goal keeper) was actually a back up filling in for an injured international.

I was at a Rider game when they played Nova. They do have a bunch of foreigners on their team. I think Rider had about 7-8 starters. Villanova had 1 or 2. To act like those 4 teams you mentioned are representative of what college soccer is like is a bit misleading.

I took a look at some of the schools listed, no so surprisingly they are mostly foreign players. I have a relative who is a staff member at Mercyhurst University and he tells me that their team is at least 85% foreign players.

I agree, there are going to be lots of upsets this year. This age group is going to be a real wild card. Kids are all playing for different reasons. Some to keep in shape, some hoping to possibly catch on with a college team, some for the fun of it.

Yes, the time for winning is kinda over. Years past you wanted to win so you can get to the top flights of best tournaments so you can be seen by college coaches. Pretty sure these 18-19 year old kids aren't looking for trophies and medals.

Do you seriously think that these players do not want to win when they step on the field? How do you think many of them go to where they are and will be (playing in college). No one said there was an end game of getting into better tournaments, but the will and desire to win a game is there.

They didnt play their last 2 games, now why would they join a league and not play their games this year? That makes no sense at all, they all have money to throw around and just want to be a pain to the league? There is a reason they couldnt play their game, sorry it didnt work out for you but they are not trying to please you.

I have no idea why, but I do know they have bailed out of their first league game. That's what you asked for. Since you seem to be part of SSC maybe you can tell me why they bagged the game this weekend.

FINES1. A $250 fine will be accessed upon 1st forfeit.2. The club president MUST write a formal letter to EDP regarding the forfeit.3. The club will pay the fine within 3 business days.4. If the fine is not paid within the required timeframe, then that team’s succeedingweek’s match will NOT be played and the team will be issued a 3-0 loss. 5. Should a second forfeit occur within a Club in the same seasonal year, the matterwill be sent to the EDP league office to determine sanctions.6. If no score is reported 3 days following a completed game, the home team will beissued a $50 fine.